Call for Applications for Grants to Impact Economic Independence

Nearly 300,000 Broward families – 44 percent of the total – live in poverty or risk slipping into

poverty because they do not earn enough to pay for food, housing and other basic needs

Community Foundation of Broward has awarded 16 Economic Independence Grants

to 11 nonprofit organizations totaling nearly $800,000 over the past two years

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., -- (Aug. 3, 2018) – Support for Broward’s struggling working individuals and families is at the heart of the latest round of potential grants offered by the Community Foundation of Broward, which has issued a call for new grant applications as part of its ongoing Economic Independence program.

“Broward’s high cost of housing, coupled with too many low-wage jobs, means nearly 300,000 Broward families can’t afford even basic needs,” said Linda Carter, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Broward. “A minimum wage earner must work nearly 100 hours per week to afford the average Broward apartment. By 2023, more than 80 percent of all new jobs in Florida will pay less than $15 per hour. We must act now to keep thousands of our neighbors from falling into poverty.”

To qualify for support from the Community Foundation, potential projects must target heads of households by extending a helping hand through steady employment, access to higher education, career advancement pathways, stable and affordable housing and access to community resources for other basic needs, such as quality childcare, transportation and healthcare.

Online applications are being accepted through September 13, 2018. Multiple grants of up to $100,000 will be awarded by the end of November, 2018. To be eligible, applicants must be 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations providing services to Broward County residents. City and county agencies are also eligible, if their projects demonstrate charitable intent. Individuals are not eligible. Here is the link to begin the online grant applications process: https://cfbroward.link/EconomicIndependence

The Community Foundation of Broward has identified Economic Independence as one of ten “Issues That Matter” in Broward. Sixteen grants totaling nearly $800,000 have been awarded to 11 nonprofit organizations over the past two years. The ongoing goal of the program is to stabilize families in crisis and move them toward economic independence.

For more information about the Economic Independence grants offered by the Community Foundation of Broward, please email Angelica Rosas, Grants Manager at the Community Foundation (arosas@cfbroward.org) or call 954-761-9503.